Though Behrend is a STEM-heavy campus, artists are not hard to find.  Olivia Coghe, a junior double majoring in Digital Media, Arts and Technology as well as Arts Administration, is a student within Behrend’s population who is constantly surrounded by art: both her own and the work of others.

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Starting as an Arts Administration major, Coghe was encourage by her dad to pursue DIGIT alongside her first interest.

Coghe said, “He heard “DIGIT” and “technology” and was like, ‘you should look into this!’”

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Before coming to college, though, she harvested a longtime love for art of all kinds.  Or, as Coghe describes it, she has been interested in art for “pretty much always.”

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When Coghe was a child, she aspired to be a fashion designer.  This career goal introduced to her to a love of drawing, leading her to take up painting.  Though Coghe still paints today, she is mostly focuses on creating pieces within her major.  

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Being in Data Visualization and Digital Humanities path of the DIGIT major, which involves the archiving and digital preservation of all types of art, including literature, she has expanded her technological skill set and discovered new facets of the art world that she is growing to love.

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Specifically, Coghe gave a special shoutout to the Python program.

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“I like the coding part more than I thought I would,” “Until I did it, I didn’t really realize how much you can do with it.”

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Relating to her minor in Marketing, Coghe hopes to use her degree to work in the marketing department of a museum.  She plans to create content and strengthen social media for existing museums, as well as increasing traffic within these establishments by heightening their understanding of their audiences.

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She also hopes to bring museums into the contemporary art world by recognizing the increased use of smartphones and electronics in human lives.

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“I’d like to integrate technology more into museums, like creating augmented realities where you can hold your phone up to a painting and it can tell you about the painting and the artists,” she stated.

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Currently, she works as a museum studies intern at the Erie Art Museum.  There, she is working on a family guide to help groups get the most from their museum experience.

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“When families come in, and they’re not familiar with the museum, we can give them this guide that takes them to the kid-friendly parts of the museum,  and also has questions that prompt them to discuss and think,” said Coghe of the guide.

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Additionally, she’s helped construct exhibitions within the museum.  Most notably, she has helped to put up the Kids as Curators exhibit, as well as working with a man who paints a self portrait annually on his birthday.

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Of course, her interest in museums comes from an overall interest in visiting them.  Being from Pittsburgh, Coghe noted her love for the museums she calls home: the Carnegie Art Museum and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

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“Andy Warhol is one of my favorite artists,” stated Coghe, “He’s just a really cool dude.”

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Additionally, like many artists, Coghe is inspired by those who came before her.  Particularly, she finds interest in the impressionist and post-impressionist movement, though she has recently been exploring the world of modern art..  As a painter herself, however, she cites artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet as her favorites, not only within these movements but overall.

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When Coghe is not creating art, she likes spending time outdoors.  Ironically enough, however, whether that be hiking, running or yoga, Coghe finds inspiration for her art through nature. And, of course, she’s always looking to broaden her horizons.

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“Recently, my high school art teacher taught me how to throw pottery, so I kind of want to get into that,” she said.